General Electric to Supply 24 Lot 22 FRP F414-GE-400 Engines in Support of F/A-18 Aircraft Production

General Electric is being awarded a contract modification to exercise an option to procure 24 Lot 22 full-rate production F414-GE-400 engines in support of F/A-18 aircraft production and delivery.

The modification, valued around $92 million, was awarded by the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) located in Patuxent River, Maryland. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds for the amount will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

Work will be performed in Lynn, Massachusetts (59 percent); Hooksett, New Hampshire (18 percent); Rutland, Vermont (12 percent); and Madisonville, Kentucky (11 percent); and is expected to be completed in February 2019.

General Electric F414

General Electric F414 is an afterburning turbofan engine in the 22,000-pound (98 kN) thrust class produced by GE Aviation.

The F414 originated from GE’s widely used F404 turbofan from the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, enlarged and improved for use in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

The engine was developed from the F412 non-afterburning turbofan planned for the A-12 Avenger II, before it was canceled.

The engine uses the core of the F412 and its full-authority digital engine control (FADEC), alongside the low-pressure system from the YF120 engine developed for the Advanced Tactical Fighter competition. One of the major differences between the F404 and the F414 is the fan section. The fan of the F414 is larger than that of the F404, but smaller than the fan for the F412.

Over 1,000 F414 engines have been delivered and the engine family has totaled over 1 million flight hours by 2010.